Depression

Clinical depression can hit any of us, but people who are high achievers can be particularly affected by the illness. WA Premier Geoff Gallop resigned, stating that he was suffering from clinical depression. His honesty made headlines and helped people to understand just how debilitating and dramatic effects of depression can be.

A major depressive episode is a very confusing and debilitating illness, which can leave previously high functioning people floundering on the couch, not wanting to go to work and feeling totally inadequate and unable to complete simple tasks.

Depression has been described as the common cold of mental disorders — most people will be affected by depression in their lives either directly or indirectly, through a friend or family member. And depression and its diagnosis is very confusing - what is depression exactly and what makes it different from just feeling down?

Feeling you’ve got the blues is common in today’s fast-paced society. People are more stressed than ever, working longer hours than ever, for less pay than ever. So it is natural to not feel 100% some days. That’s completely normal (although not entirely satisfactory!).

What differentiates occasionally feeling down for a few days from depression is the severity of the symptoms, and how long you’ve had them. Typically, for most depressive disorders, you need to have felt some of those symptoms for longer than two weeks. They also need to cause you a fair amount of distress in your life, and interfere with your ability to carry on your normal daily routine. Depression has many forms - unipolar depression, biological depression, manic depression, seasonal affective disorder, dysthymia, ….the list goes on. So many terms have been used to describe this set of feelings we’ve all felt at one time or another in our lives, to one degree or another, that it is time to set the record straight.

Symptoms of Depression

Depression is characterised by a number of common symptoms, including a persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood, and feelings of hopelessness or pessimism. People who are depressed often have feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and helplessness. They no longer take interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that they previously enjoyed. Insomnia, early-morning waking, and oversleeping are common. Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain may be symptoms of depression in some people. They experience decreased energy, fatigue, and a constant feeling of being “slowed down.” People with severe depression can have thoughts of death or suicide, no matter how high functioning they might seem. They can be restless and irritable, and have difficulty concentrating, remembering, and making decisions. Sometimes they imagine persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to traditional treatments - such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain.

Depression is a severe disorder that can often go undetected in some people’s lives because it can creep up on you. Depression doesn’t need to strike all at once; it can be a gradual and nearly unnoticeable withdrawal from your active life and enjoyment of living. Or it can be caused by a clear event, such as the breakup of a long-term relationship, a divorce or family problems. Finding the cause of depression isn’t as important as getting appropriate and effective treatment for it.

Grief after the death or loss of a loved one is common and not considered depression in the usual sense. Teenagers going through the usual mood swings common to that age usually don’t experience clinical depression either. Depression usually strikes adults, and twice as many women as men. It is theorized that men express their depressive feelings in more external ways that often don’t get diagnosed as depression. For example, men may spend more time or energy focused on an activity to the exclusion of all other activities, or may have difficulty controlling outbursts of rage or anger. These types of reactions can be symptoms of depression.

Treatment for Depression

Many people battle on needlessly, feeling as if they are in an ocean without a life raft, and no island in sight. Often anti-depressants are the most expedient treatment, providing the life raft while people recover and re-orient themselves.

Simple changes like increasing cardiovascular exercise, dietary modifications, slowing down and saying no can help to create a very rapid improvement in mood.

Learning to meditate and stay in the present moment is a simple technique that can be very difficult for high achievers. But once they learn the skill, they are often converts for life. And they are much happier.

Therapeutic support helps people to recover more quickly too. People learn to recognise old patterns that may have been appropriate when they were younger, but are no longer necessary. For example, some of my clients might recognise that they grew up feeling they had to please and take care of others, with no idea about how to care for themselves.

Therapy can help people develop more appropriate strategies in the present. People can change their beliefs about themselves, and make lifestyle changes, which help to beat depression.

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